Despite the Cook Labor Government having rivers of revenue from the largest mining boom in the state’s history, Western Australian families are doing it tough.

Increased government fees and charges, frequent mortgage rate rises, and sky-rocketing food and transport costs have plunged a record number of Western Australian households into financial stress.

A succession of misguided and ineffective cost-of-living relief measures by the Cook Labor Government have provided no meaningful financial respite for families.

The most deceptive among Roger Cook’s failed relief measures is his “free” public transport program which served only to add to the financial burden of thousands of Western Australians.

Lured in by the Cook Government’s offer of free travel on Sundays and for students commuting to and from school, more than 13,000 Western Australians have been fined more than $1.3 million for not using their SmartRider to tap on for their “free” ride.

The WA Liberals believe in righting the wrong of Roger Cook’s fines for using free public transport.

What was promoted as a cost-of-living relief for families turned out to be nothing more than a backdoor hack by Minister for Transport Rita Saffioti to replace fare revenue with fines revenue.

This policy should have delivered genuine cost-of-living relief through free transport on school days for school children and on Sundays for everyone, not deceptive fines.

If the State Government is going to provide free public transport, it should be free.

Western Australians deserve better from their Government than half-baked schemes that give with one hand and take with the other.

Only a WA Liberal Government will provide it.

The WA Liberals believe it is wrong to lure Western Australians onto trains and buses with the promise of free rides only to issue them with $100 fines for not reading the fine print.

Families across the state are struggling, and it is inexcusable to place yet another financial strain on them through misguided and confusing transport policies.

Given the enormous spend and cost overruns to grow our bus and rail network over recent years, and support for alternate methods of travel, encouraging Western Australians to use our transport services should be the Cook Labor Government’s priority.

Instead, the current policy is deterring and penalising hard-working Western Australians.

A WA Liberal Government will make ‘free’ public transport truly free and repay Western Australians fined by the Cook Labor Government for using free public transport without a SmartRider.

Tagging on with a SmartRider will no longer be a requirement on designated free travel days or during free school travel periods for students.

Everyone will travel for free on Sundays and children in school uniform will travel to and from school on weekdays.

To address the unfair burden the Cook Labor Government’s policy has placed on families, we will also refund the fines of the 13,428 commuters and students (and counting) who were penalised simply for attempting to access “free” travel as well as any other fines issued regarding free travel between now and March 8.

Unnecessary bureaucracy is in the DNA of the Labor Party – cutting it is in the Liberal Party’s DNA.

This refund initiative will address the financial strain these fines have caused and send a clear message that a Liberal Government stands with the people, not against them.

Western Australians who access public transport deserve a government that wants to promote fair and free use of our vast transport network.

Only the WA Liberal Party will commit to making ‘free’ public transport genuinely free—without hidden conditions, punitive fines, or complicated requirements.